1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for continuously coupling or meshing a pair of elongate slide fastener stringers of substantially endless length.
2. Prior Art
Japanese Patent Publication No. 40-4101 discloses coupling means for continuously meshing a pair of slide fastener stringers and a pair of spaced-apart guide rolls by which the stringers are guided for being fed along a pair of converging paths into the coupling means. The guide rolls have their axes extending transversely to the guide channel in the coupling means. Thus, the stringers as they enter the coupling means become forcibly twisted by the edges thereof before passing through the guide channel, with the results that the tapes and coupling elements tend to get caught and, at times, damaged by the coupling means.
Another coupling apparatus shown in German Pat. No. 637,057 has roller means for advancing a pair of slide fastener stringers smoothly into a fixedly held slider. The roller means includes an unnumbered block (FIG. 5) supporting inclined rollers, the block having a slot through which the stringer tape frictionally passes, with resulting wear on the tape. The slide fastener stringers are supplied from their respective rolls along parallel paths before being twisted and fed in a converging manner toward the slider. With such an arrangement, the parallel paths are widely spaced from each other so that the stringers moving along such paths cannot be processed such as for the mounting of coupling elements, the removing of selected groups of the coupling elements, and the attaching of reinforcing films, which would normally be performed on closely juxtaposed stringers before they are coupled together.